


A Brave New World

by iamgoku



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Aunt Peggy Carter, Awesome Darcy Lewis, Awesome Phil Coulson, BAMF Darcy Lewis, BAMF Tony Stark, Bisexual Darcy Lewis, Civil War Team Iron Man, Comments are moderated, Darcy Lewis is Female Tony Stark, Darcy Lewis's Taser, F/F, F/M, From another earth, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm not putting up with trolls, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Jane Foster is a Good Bro (Marvel), Not Beta Read, Not Steve Friendly, Not Wanda Friendly, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, POV Darcy Lewis, POV Multiple, Parent Tony Stark, Peggy Carter is Tony Stark's Godparent, Protective Darcy Lewis, Protective Tony Stark, Scott Lang is a Good Bro, Thanos is an asshole, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Defense Squad, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony being a parent....to a version of himself, tony stark deserved better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:09:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26465446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamgoku/pseuds/iamgoku
Summary: She'd seen her world be destroyed by a Mad Titan, her friends and family all laid to waste. Her last ditch attempt to go back and change the outcome was thwarted and instead Antonia 'Toni' Stark was thrust into another world entirely, so different yet similiar to her own.While struggling to deal with her grief, Toni shockingly finds an older male version of herself in this alternate Earth and decides to lay low while finding her place in this new world, which means she can't be Toni Stark anymore.This was how Darcy Lewis came to be.(AKA Darcy Lewis is actually a female version of Tony from another Earth AU)
Relationships: Darcy Lewis & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Darcy Lewis & Melinda May, Darcy Lewis & Pepper Potts, Darcy Lewis & Peter Parker, Darcy Lewis & Thor, Darcy Lewis & Tony Stark, Happy Hogan & Darcy Lewis, Happy Hogan & Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Jane Foster & Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster & Darcy Lewis & Erik Selvig, Jane Foster & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Phil Coulson & Darcy Lewis
Comments: 82
Kudos: 290
Collections: The Darcy Lewis Emporium





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [izumi2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/izumi2/gifts).
  * Inspired by [My Use and Value is What You Do](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18333815) by [izumi2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/izumi2/pseuds/izumi2). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here I am again with (another!) MCU story. 
> 
> This one is actually an idea which I had the other day which originally differed from this (the original idea had Darcy actually be a time travelling robot.....but that changed and shifted quickly into her being a female-Tony from another earth), which was inspired by a great fic linked above by Izumi2
> 
> Timeline wise, it starts around a year before the first Thor movie. 
> 
> Now, I know some of you saw the 'Team Iron Man' tag, and I will admit that will be the direction this story will lean.
> 
> Unlike those, it's not going to be bashing all of Team Cap (aside from Scott who always gets of easier when I write Team Iron Man stuff)......I can't promise you'll all like how I present some of them. 
> 
> Look, unlike those other stories, this one won't be heavily revolving around the team vs team clashes anytime soon, mostly due to it starting about 5 years before 'civil war', things will be different in some of these chapters which deal with the films, and thus the fate of certain characters will be different too, you might like this or you might hate my guts for it. 
> 
> So yeah, even if you don't like my other MCU stories (or hate Team Iron Man stories), and are super fans of Steve and Wanda, when it gets to the parts of the story you don't like, feel free to start spamming the comments with flames.....which will be ignored as I have moderated comments on just in case.
> 
> (There's a lot of trolls going around, one of which was annoyingly commented using people's usernames just to be a pain in the ass......you know who you are) 
> 
> Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this (relatively short prologue, I don't like posting short chapters, but being a prologue, I hope you can forgive me)
> 
> And if you'd like to support me, I recently started a Ko-Fi account (I was considering a Patreon, but idk, some of their policies make me hesitant) 
> 
> And on with the story!

**_Nevada_ **

The desert landscape was blanketed in moonlight as the gentle breeze blew against the sand, a peaceful atmosphere for miles void of any human life. 

However this peace was suddenly broken by the emergence of a sphere of bright blue light appearing on the ground, for several seconds it crackles and sparked with energy before expanding outward and becoming larger until it was ten feet in diameter, all the while more energy was crackling and sparking around it before in a burst of light the sphere disappeared.

All that was left was a half dome crater that it cut into the ground and scorched earth surrounding it, the ring left in the earth was red hot and smoldering as a few lingering sparks dissipated in the air. 

In the centre of the crater, steam wafted off a lone figure who was still for almost a minute before awakening with a loud gasp. 

She was a young woman with dark brown hair and was on the short side, her eyes darting around as she was still taking in heaving breaths, her body writhing as she seemed to be in a state of shock. 

Her body was decked out in a damaged suit of red and gold armor, lacking a helmet and showcasing a large bruise on the side of her face and one on her lower jaw, small cuts were seen upon her lip and left brow.

After several seconds she sat up quickly, her eyes still looking around as if expecting something else to happen.

Leaning forward to push herself up, she let out a groan at the effort, her free arm coming up to clutch her armor-covered stomach, this action causing the shoulder piece of that arm to fall off along with several other bits of plating. 

Wincing as she reached towards the edge of the crater before she slowly started to pull herself out, standing up afterwards only for several more pieces of the armor to unceremoniously drop off from her body, showing off a black bodysuit underneath.

After taking a few steps, she fell to her knees, her breathing once again becoming labored as she clenched her hands into fists, squeezing her eyes shut as she finally regained her bearings and senses, only for everything to come crashing back.

_ “There’s no other way Toni! We’re out of time, you have to use the machine!” _

_ “You can stop this, you can save everyone!” _

_ “Peter!” _

_ “I’m sorry…” _

_ “Rhodey-” _

_ “I’m gonna buy you some time!” _

Antoinette ‘Toni’ Stark dragged her fists across the dirt in front of her, clenched eyes doing nothing to stop the tears that were flowing down her face and onto the dirt as she felt a lump fill up her throat before she let out a choked sob. 

More memories flashed through her mind, her clenched fists hitting the ground as her sobs shook her body. 

_ “You have my respect Stark” _

_ “I’m not going to kill you, no you won’t share the fate of the rest of this world, your’s will be to live. To live knowing you failed them all, that your last attempt to stop me didn’t succeed” _

_ “I don’t know where you’ll wind up, but trying to return would be fruitless, what would be left for you here other than the reminder of your failure” _

“I’m sorry!” she choked out, her hands curling up around herself as she couldn’t hold anything back, crying openly in her solitude.

“I’m so sorry!”

**_~0~_ **

Toni didn’t know how long she’d spent there huddled on the ground crying, it could have been hours. Her throat was now raw and horse, and her eyes had long since ran out of tears to shed. 

She didn’t know why she’d decided to start walking, most of her body was on autopilot as she stripped down the armor and threw it into the torn and worn duffel bag that was lying in the bottom of the crater, the only thing that had been brought through with her. 

She found a road after walking for sometime and began following it aimlessly, she had no idea where it led nor did she care, her body continuing to move with what little energy it could muster. 

As she finally saw a sign up ahead on the roadside, her dimmed eyes made out the words Las Vegas beside the many miles it would take to get there, again Toni barely registered it as she continued along, the cold wind which blew against her body not even phasing her nor was the prospect of walking alone at night in the middle of nowhere, It felt like nothing could hurt her right now.

She’d truly lost it all and was now numb to everything around her. If she was killed on the roadside that night, it wouldn’t matter. 

What was the point anymore…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go, the prologue all wrapped up. 
> 
> Sorry for the shortness (and bleakness of the end there)
> 
> I hope I hooked some of you!
> 
> I am currently working on 3 more chapters for my various MCU-crossover stories, but this second chapter will be thrown into that mix to be worked on, especially since my Marvel writing mood is back. 
> 
> For those of you wondering who Toni (Darcy) will be shipped with, idk yet. I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete, there will be time to ponder these questions going forward. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this, and if so please leave a comment and kudos down below.


	2. Rising from the ashes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look back at some of Toni's journey to becoming Darcy Lewis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is! Chapter 2, and one much longer than the first chapter. 
> 
> Originally this chapter was going to be a bit longer, but I capped it where it is (mostly due to me being really really tired and wanting to get this uploaded before I crashed to bed)
> 
> This chapter mostly explores Toni/Darcy's initial thoughts after the end of the prologue, as well as setting up events preluding to the Thor movie. 
> 
> I want to thank everyone for all the kudos, comments and bookmarks on the prologue (despite how short it was) and everyone's interest in the story. 

Juggling two grocery bags in hand, Toni used her free one to fish out her keys and open the door to her apartment. Stepping in and kicking the door closed behind her, the custom security locks she’d made secured the door once more. 

She quickly made her way to the kitchen and dropped the bags down on the countertop with a relieved sigh, tossing her keys beside them before making her way to the fridge. 

Opening the fridge, Toni browsed through its contents before grabbing a can of red bull and closing it again, cracking it open and taking a few sips before retreating to her spare room which was opposite her bedroom. 

The spare room being her makeshift workshop, a series of desks and tables with assorted equipment and gear, some finished while others sat half completed or left for her to tinker with, as well as multiple laptops and tablets, all Stark Tech though modified to her personal taste.

The room was well lit and showed off several large whiteboards she’d placed on the walls for quick note taking and equations. 

Taking another sip from her can, she let out a small wince and placed it down on one of the more empty work desks before sitting down on a stool and tossing her jacket to the side, reaching down and peeling off the long sleeved top.

Toni reached for a silver aerosol can and shook it several times before aiming the nozzle at her chest above her cleavage and spraying for several seconds. Once she did this, she waited a few moments before the skin where she sprayed started to bubble and droop from her flesh.

Reaching for a cloth she had beside the can, Toni began rubbing down her chest as the skin seemingly melted away, revealing the familiar blue glow from her Arc Reactor. 

Reaching across the desk she grabbed a cigar box and opened it to reveal a duplicate of the reactor before she reached down and disconnected the one in her chest, turning it and releasing the reactor she took it out with a minor grunt, before switching in the one she’d pulled from the box.

Taking a few calming breaths before looking down at the reactor she’d taken from her chest, she saw a minor flicker coming from the interior of the device and with a weary sigh, placed it down on the table and retrieved several micro tools and got to work on fixing the issue. 

She was lucky that she’d had two reactors with her upon her arrival on this Earth. Something she’d begun implementing into her suits some time ago was a double reactor system, she would have each suit run on its own Arc Reactor which was placed within the suit itself, and in case of emergencies or damage to the initial suit reactor, her personal one within her own chest would then be switched in as a backup power source. 

As she began her work, her mind drifted back to her current situation and how much things had changed. 

It was now almost eight months since she’d arrived on this alternate Earth.

Almost eight months since she’d contemplated ending it all. 

That night when she arrived Toni had spent hours walking along the desert road till she finally found herself in Las Vegas around daybreak. The day was spent wandering in an aimless daze, her mind couldn’t stop playing those final moments in her head before she’d gone through the portal.

The last thing she saw after Thanos had beamed back to his ship had been fire, as her world was destroyed along with everyone and everything on it, all of her friends and family and everyone and everything she’d ever known had burned. 

And yet she was still alive. 

How was that fair? Why was she still breathing while everyone else had been killed. Why couldn’t Rhodey have survived or Peter, or countless others. 

So she thought of just ending it, there were a multitude of ways she could do it, and Toni had come so close to giving in to the urge. But something had stopped her, someone had stopped her.

Anthony Edward Stark

Toni had been shocked at first to see footage of a suit so similar to her own, as well as Rhodey’s on the news. Having walked past a large screen showcasing a news story about an incident several days ago, where they had battled Ivan Vanko who had attacked the Stark Expo with a series of remotely controlled armored drones.

She had been transfixed at the sight, before the clips had changed to journalists footage of people following her alternate male self who stopped to talk to them. 

He was older than her and looked to be in his forties making her about half his age, and he reminded her of her father somewhat in his appearance. 

Though his visage didn’t conjure up the same harsh cold feelings that reminiscing about Howard normally did.

She listened as he spoke to them about Vanko, assuring them that the threat was taken care of and all technology concerning it was either destroyed or had been retrieved. She also saw some side footage of Justin Hammer being led away in handcuffs, which sparked a faint feeling of amusement in her.

The Justin Hammer she’d dealt with had been a dick too, and had suffered a similar fate.

Her attention was quickly drawn back to Tony however as he reassured the people watching and the public that Iron Man was still here and that he would continue to do his best to protect the public to the best of his ability.

Watching him and hearing his words seemed to rekindle a small flame within Toni, in only a few minutes the feelings of hopelessness and despair had lessened.

She still felt the guilt and the remorse within her, but now there was a small sense of hope. Maybe it wasn’t pointless to keep going on, perhaps she could still be of some use.

Perhaps this new world could be the next step in her journey. 

She wasn’t naive, Toni knew that these current feelings of hope would fluctuate and dim with the coming days, weeks, months and so on. 

She knew that she would definitely feel this despair again. But at least now she had something to aspire to, someone to aspire to.

Even if weirdly, it was technically another version of herself.

Toni thought how Rhodey would think of her for wanting to give up so easily. This isn’t what her friend would want her to do, this isn’t what Pepper or Peter, what her Mother, what Aunt Peggy, Jarvis or Phil or so many others who had believed in her would want, for her to just end it all.

Not when there was a whole world here that could benefit from her.

There was already one Stark here doing so much good, how much could come about from there being two?

So after making her mind up, Toni then set out to do the next thing that came to mind while in Las Vegas, acquire some currency. 

She considered going to her male self and laying things all out on the table, but the thought filled her with anxiety and unease. She had no idea how to start that conversation, and with everything with her world still fresh in her mind, she decided to spend some time taking a step back and acclimating to this Earth first. 

She needed to learn as much as she could about this Earth and how it differed from hers, apart from the obvious inclusion of her Male self. And to do this she would need funds, though as she was in Vegas the obvious solution presented itself.

Toni had brought along a thousand dollars in cash in a wallet stashed in the duffel bag, which to her had been the equivalent of pennies and dimes. 

Her first course of action was to buy a second hand laptop from a pawnshop, nothing too fancy but she was able to use it to create a fake ID for herself with enough legitimacy to be used in case she was carded.

Afterwards she made her way to a nearby casino which was familiar from her world, and began to use her remaining cash on several games, staying away from the slot machines, she chose to focus on cards.

By the time she left that evening she had raked in an even three hundred thousand dollars. She was tempted to stay and increase her winnings, the thrill and allure of gambling presenting itself, but Toni didn’t want to draw too much suspicion to herself, and thus left with her winnings.

Finding a hotel for the night she was able to plan out what to do next, as well as take a relieving hot shower and buy some more clothes besides the single change of clothes she’d brought in the duffel bag aside from her armour. 

She’d initially considered going to California, as well as New York as she decided on laying low for the time being, and a good identity cover she could use would be a college student. 

Plus it didn’t hurt to get some more studying in, in the meantime. She eventually settled on Culver University in Virginia, it had some good programs and courses, as well as some impressive former staff and familiar names from her world.

Bruce, Betty, Leonard Samson and even Andrew Garner. 

So two days later she set off to Virginia, later crafting herself a more solid identity and backstory, airtight and undetectable. She had a birth certificate, social security number, bank account, drivers license and every other piece of identification she would need.

It did require her to create a new alias for herself, which meant she couldn’t be Toni Stark anymore, but instead Darcy Lewis. 

A part of her considered it to be symbolic, a new name and identity for a new world.

Soon after arriving in Virginia she secured herself an apartment, she worked on two things. One of which was placing some wise investments in Stark Industries, and the second was securing her place in Culver University, she chose Political Science as her major as well as Computational Biology as her minor. 

She did find it somewhat amusing as she already had multiple doctorates and master degrees, not to mention the areas she’d studied on a whim or for specific purposes.

But nevertheless, she was accepted and several months later she was settled into her place.

Bringing her mind back to the present, Toni was still working on her spare reactor, pausing to take a more liberal gulp of red bull.

It took another twenty minutes of slow work to finish the job, before she placed the reactor into the cigar box and let out a relieved sigh and reached for another aerosol can, this one was also silver but had a black ring of tape around it to differentiate it from the matching silver can.

Pressing the nozzle on the new can, Toni watched as the reactor was covered in a skin like material, a chemical synthetic skin she’d created to better help mask the reactor’s appearance and not have to be concerned about the glow appearing through her shirt or any thin material.

Giving it a once over upon completion she nodded to herself and got up and stretched her legs and arms, she was about to exit the workshop when a notification sound came from her laptop. 

Walking over and opening it up, she saw that it was a dual notification. Toni received emails and updates from Culver on her classes as well as standard news that was sent out to students. 

She also set up a specialized alert which would cross reference any college news both to the students or private information which also contained specific names.

Specifically names of people she knew from her world, either from knowing them personally or through association. She had done this after discovering the aforementioned staff members both past and present whom she was aware of. 

As she read through the alert, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lip.

“Jane Foster huh, let’s see what you’re coming to campus for” Toni said as she sat back down and began going through the information with interest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there is chapter 2 all wrapped up. 
> 
> While I was writing this chapter, I did have to look up where Culver University was, as I hadn't seen 'the Incredible Hulk' movie for quite awhile, and was under the mistaken impression it was in New York, luckily I did and was reminded it was in Virginia. 
> 
> As for Leanord Samson (aka Doc Samson in the comics) he was in the MCU, some of you may remember him being portrayed by Ty Burrell (some of you may know him better as Phil Dunphy in 'Modern Family') in the Incredible Hulk movie. Though annoyingly, he had many more scenes that were in the original cut but where deleted for the theatrical and dvd release. 
> 
> However the 'Directors Cut' of The Incredible Hulk restored many of his deleted scenes. And Ty Burrell did say he was interested in returning to role in the MCU in future, wanting to portray the super powered version of Doc Samson like in the comics (where he possessed gamma powered muscles and super strength) 
> 
> Set photos for 'Falcon and the winter soldier' have showed signs for a company called 'Samson Developtment' which could be teasing his appearance. Though I would be happy as well to see him in the 'She-Hulk' series given the characters connection as an ally and friend of the Hulk family in the comics, plus as Ty Burrell is on board for returning to the role (and now that Modern Family has concluded) it would be a great opportunity for him to explore the character again, especially if they bring in his comic abilities. 
> 
> Anyway, I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and if so please don't hesitate to leave a comment down below, your feedback and kudos are always a treat to see.


	3. Preparation and Reminiscing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni prepares for her trip to New Mexico, while also digging up some old memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 3!
> 
> Not as long as I would have liked, but longer than the previous 2 chapters, so that's a plus.
> 
> This one took a little while longer to get out than I had hoped, but I'm hoping you all enjoy it nonetheless. 
> 
>   
> 

Toni had just finished the last of the boxing up for her trip, having spent the past few days preparing. 

She’d looked into Jane Foster’s interest in coming to Culver, and it turned out she was hoping to snag some interns for an off-site field study in astronomy and astrophysics. 

Toni had been surprised to see the Jane of this world, and how she differed from the one from her original Earth. While she had only known Jane in passing mostly, not having spent too much time with her, the most noticeable difference was that the version of Jane from her Earth had been a Medical Doctor. 

Still though, she let curiosity and boredom get the better of her and applied for the internship. When meeting the Astrophysicist, she could tell Jane had not been all too impressed that a Political Science student had applied for her internship position, but Toni had managed to snag her interest with also being studying computational biology, and she’d through in a few small teases of her being smarter than she looked.

She wanted to impress Jane, but not to the point where she’d ask too many questions.

Toni wasn’t sure she’d get the position however, given the two week waiting period that followed. But to her surprise, no one else had even bothered to sign up, meaning that by default she had the internship.

Tomorrow would be the day she’d head off to New Mexico, to the small town of Puente Antiguo. Heading out the front of her apartment she saw her car had already been loaded up with the rest of the stuff she was taking with her, and saw the one responsible turn and offer a smile.

“All done” 

“Thank you so much Lou, I really appreciate the help” she said to the hulking security guard, who merely waved it off.

“It’s fine really, glad to help,” he said, stepping back up onto the curb. 

Toni had befriended him soon after she began studying at Culver, the security guard having a likeable personality as well as genuinely looking out for the students, as well as having stepped in on Toni’s behalf when some drunken frat bros had thought of getting a bit too handsy, despite Toni assuring him she could have handled it, the gesture was appreciated. 

“So you are excited for your internship?” he asked, causing Toni to nod.

“Yeah it’ll be a interesting for sure , we’ll either be making some amazing astronomical and astrophysics breakthroughs, or we’ll find nothing and I can spend all semester kicking back and getting a nice tan, either way it’s a great opportunity” she said with a grin causing him to shake his head, still smiling at her.

“Well you should make the most of it, you’re a smart kid. And it’ll look good on your resume if nothing else” 

“True” Toni said as she checked over the car before returning to the curb. “Well I might go out for some dinner, seeing as it’s my last night in the city for a while. There’s some great places to eat downtown” Toni said as she checked her messenger bag. 

“You should be careful if you’re going to stay out late, there’s always the chance of some unsavoury types hanging around” Lou said with concern, causing Toni to smirk.

“Don’t worry, I have done some self defence training before, I’m not just a pretty face you know. Plus I always got this bad boy” she said, pulling out her modified taser from her bag, letting out a light spark before returning it.

“But I appreciate your concern. Who would have thought the big tough ex-marine is really a big softie” Toni said lightly elbowing him, causing Lou to let out a snort.

“Trust me, you just haven’t seen me get really mad.” Lou said jokingly, causing her to roll her eyes.

“Ok, well I gotta get going but I hope your trip goes well” he said causing Toni to nod before she brought her hands up and signed ‘Thanks, and again I appreciate your help ’ to him, causing the older man to grin.

“You picked up ASL so quickly”

“What can I say, I’m a woman of many talents” she said before bidding him good night, she then took off into the city for some food, all the while thinking over her departure the next morning.

~0~

Toni was sitting cross legged on her bed in her pyjamas, hours having passed since she returned from dinner and she was once again browsing the net. 

She still found it strange how similar, yet at the same time how different this world was to her Earth.

When she first began gaining the lay of the land, she’d been shocked to find some of the people and groups she knew so well were non-existent here. One major one was that there were no Mutants on this earth, at least in the same vein as the mutants back on her Earth. There was no Charles Xavier, no X-Men or School for Gifted Youngsters, no Magneto or Brotherhood.

Yet another pang of sadness had hit her when she learned this, having hoped to eventually connect with their counterparts here. She had fond memories of them from back home, even if for instance Logan in particular had been a bit of an ass, his gruff demeanour had hid a genuine care for his friends and younger members of the team, kind of like a grouchy Uncle. 

Despite not being a mutant, she had found comradery among them and the Institute, and had even been asked to give a lecture with Hank Mccoy to one of the classes once, which was amusing due to the fact she was the same age as the students. 

So many people she would never see again…

Thinking on more personal notes, she recalled her research into her older male self and the recent events that had occurred when she first arrived. Looking into the occurrences that happened leading up to the fight with Vanko including Tony making Pepper his CEO, the Monaco incident, the party fight with Rhodey, and all the other data she’d been able to look into made her instantly aware of the reason.

Palladium poisoning.

A rather unfortunate side effect of placing a chunk of palladium into your chest cavity that she herself had gone through, albeit at a younger age than her male counterpart.

She’d gotten into similar erratic and difficult situations, partially due to the heavy metal poisoning affecting her, plus her belief that there was nothing she could do to stop her inevitable death.

She’d done much like Tony had, and kept it from her friends and those close to her, though it hadn’t lasted when she’d finally been found out one day…

_Toni was lying beside the toilet, bottle of vodka in one hand as she stared blankly at the bath to her left. Her eyelids flickered weakly as she turned to stare down at the dark veins spreading out from her chest in a gruesome pattern, mixing in with the scarring from the initial cave surgery to insert the crude electromagnet._

_She was glad every day that they hadn’t been forced to perform a mastectomy in the cave, which she’d been told had almost happened._

_The sound of a door opening downstairs loudly caught her attention, followed by a familiar male voice._

_“Toni….Toni, are you home”_

_Oh no, she couldn’t let him see her like this._

_She fumbled around and tried to stand, but in doing so bumped her shin harshly against the bath and let out a curse, her uncoordinated movement causing her to trip and fall over forward onto her stomach and let out a pained cry, the bottle rolling across the floor as she did._

_“Toni” the voice now said, obviously close to the bathroom before she heard the door open, followed by silence for several seconds as she desperately tried to right herself._

_“Toni…” the voice now said in a softer tone, she could swear she could hear the pity, the condescension and worse...the disappointment in that tone._

_But as she weakly looked up to see Phil Coulson standing above her, she could only see genuine concern etched onto his features as he reached down and gently helped her to her feet, scooping her up afterwards despite her weak sounds of protest, which died down as she realized how drunk she was and how futile it was in that moment to try and fight him._

_Phil placed her in her bed after getting her to drink some water, bringing back some more and set it beside her bed with some aspirin which she found when she awoke hours later, her head absolutely pounding._

_What was worse was the conversation that came after she had partially gotten over her hangover._

_Phil had seen the damage she’d been trying to hide, the black veins and side effects of the Palladium core. He put it together and deduced her behaviour recently had been affected by the heavy metal poisoning, as well as the inevitable conclusion that was coming._

_“Toni, why didn’t you tell me, or anyone else for that matter” he said gently, causing Toni to shake her head and let out a bitter laugh._

_“The damage is too severe, too prolonged and leached into my system at this point. And besides, the Arc Reactor couldn’t be removed at least not with current surgical techniques without an over ninety six percent chance of me dying on the table, I wasn’t in a rush just to die….but instead death creeped up on me anyway, just slower” she said bitterly._

_“Don’t talk like that, there’s always a solution, there has to be. Have you tried alternative power sources, like-” he began only for her to cut him off._

_“I have, whatever you’re about to say, whatever you could even potentially say I have looked into it. I have tried every alternative fuel method for my miniaturized Arcs, nothing works as efficiently as Palladium. The other simulations and tests I’ve run all had the Arc either not work, or caused catastrophic damage due to malfunction. I have also looked into alternative elements….I did Phil, ok I ran out of ones to test. I have tried every combination, hell every permutation of every known element we have on the periodic table….nothing works...and whatever kooky space elements out there beyond the stars aren’t available, or at least too far out of reach…” Toni said as her eyes were glaring down at the reactor, the object of her salvation and continued life, was also the reason she would soon be dead._

_“Toni, you shouldn’t have been dealing with this on your own. I know you want us all to think otherwise most of the time...but you’re still just a kid, you shouldn’t be shouldering all of this by yourself” Phil said softly, moving beside her._

_Toni merely scoffed and folded her arms. “Haven’t you heard, I’m Iron Maiden. I can do anything”_

_“So the media likes to let people believe, and maybe Iron Maiden can. But Toni Stark is still very much a mortal made of flesh and blood, and she needs to remember she has people in her life who care about her, who will support and help her through anything, including this” Phil said firmly as he placed a hand on her shoulder._

_She stared at him for several seconds, mulling over his words before turning away._

_Her body language stiffening as Phil couldn’t make out her expression, this was until he felt her body shake slightly and heard the tell tale sign of a sob. She turned to him again, tears now freely flowing down her cheeks as she looked at him, in that moment looking far younger and smaller than she’d been in quite some time as she stared at him pleadingly._

_“I don’t want to die….” she tearfully pleaded before another sob lurched free and Phil brought her into his embrace, allowing the brunette teen to cry and grip hold of his shirt._

_“It’s going to be ok Toni, we’ll find a way to fix this. I promise….I promise”_

Bringing herself back to the present once more, Toni reached up and wiped the lone tear that had rolled down her cheek.

She still had occasional bad days, days when she didn’t feel like getting out of bed. Days when going outside and being surrounded by so many people seemed like a nightmare, one which brought back all of the loss and pain.

But she tried to focus on the good days, which lately she’d been having more and more of.

Grabbing a tissue from her bedside table she wiped her eyes and blew her nose before tossing the now soiled tissue in a small waste basket. She then closed her laptop and set it aside, getting under the covers and trying to clear her mind and let sleep overtake her. She had a long trip starting tomorrow, and needed to rest.

Hopefully good things would come from this internship. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it! Chapter 3.
> 
> (And yes, I did put that cameo in XD)
> 
> I was contemplating originally which flashback scene to put in, but decided on choosing that one.
> 
> More flashbacks will come in future chapters, not all of them in chronological order (for instance, the flashback where Toni/Darcy met Phil back in her world, will come later)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if so please leave a comment down below. Your comments and feedback are very much appreciated, and I am always happy to see people taking the time to let me know what they enjoyed.


	4. billionaire genius intern philanthropist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni has settled into her role as 'Darcy Lewis' and into her intership with Jane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone.
> 
> Sorry for the wait for this chapter (and the shortness of it :( But I have been busy during the new year, and may get busier soon with a potential job prospect coming up. But hopefully I can still pump out chapters at a faster rate.)
> 
> I am working on a long 12k chapter update for 'A New Team (Done Right)' as well as a new Young Justice story, and several Marvel chapters.
> 
> Now this chapter takes place 2 months after the previous one, and has 'Darcy' settled into her internship as Erik arrives.
> 
> And for those of you wondering, yes I will start calling her 'Darcy' from her perspective in future, probably after she meets Tony (unless a lot of people want me to keep referring to her as 'Toni' we'll see. I could go either way at this point)
> 
> -
> 
>   
>   
> 

It had been two months since Toni had begun her internship with Jane in Puente Antiguo, having flown across the country to work with her in her makeshift lab and help her collect and research data regarding the Einstein-Rosen Bridge theory.

Toni had to admit, she was onto something. It may have been a bit out there, but there was still a solid theory underlying everything Jane was researching. 

For the most part she’d been doing grunt work, recording and collecting data, helping Jane set up her equipment, drive her out to the research sites she’d mapped out, etc.

Though she’d shown a sliver of her true intellect during her meeting with Jane, she still kept herself unassuming for the most part. Though she had taken to doing some maintenance on Jane’s cobbled together tech when the older woman was sleeping, or in a three day science bender that left her basically sleep walking through her research, in which Toni had to coerce her to sleep.

It was strange to be the one doing that to someone else for once.

She’d also been fixing Jane’s math for her, not that the Astrophysicist would normally require that much correcting, but again after days of no sleep there were glaring errors that popped up that Toni just couldn’t let slide. 

Jane had been suspicious, but Toni had thus far avoided all attempts at being caught out. 

She’d also built a database for Jane, but when asked how she did it, Toni said she’d simply bought the program. When Jane gave her money to pay her back for it, Toni merely slipped it back into Jane’s budgeted funds in several smaller amounts.

All in all, it had been a pretty good two months, the little town while missing a lot of the amenities and comforts the big cities possessed, still had a certain charm about it that Toni grew to enjoy. 

And the local diner owner Izzy, had taken a shine to her and Toni always got discounts or extra servings thrown in when she went to eat there, or to pick up orders for Jane.

 _“You need to feed that woman, I swear she’s going to collapse face down on her computer one of these days”_ she’d said to Toni when she’d gone to pick up some sandwiches the other day. 

Toni had to hold back on telling her she had in fact found Jane like that more than once. 

She finally knew how her friends felt when they’d constantly berated her on her own lab schedule, if you could call the chaotic uncoordinated sessions which varied from hours to days at a time she herself had spent working on her suits or other projects.

Pepper, Rhodey, Phil, Melinda, Aunt May, Jarvis, and even Peter sometimes when he hadn’t been right there beside her in their science binges, had all had turns at coaxing Toni from her lab at one time or another. 

That wasn’t to say she wasn’t still going to go on the inevitable science binge, but at least now she was more aware of the situation from the other side of things. Though maybe she could remember to set timers for taking a proper snack break, or to take a nap.

Back onto the topic of Jane, she had gone to pick up her old professor and colleague Erik Selvig from the airport which was all the way in Albuquerque and wouldn’t be back till this evening.

Toni had thus spent the time organizing and cataloguing more data after getting back from lunch hours ago, having made sure to organize dinner as well before she returned. Though knowing Jane, she’d probably have to hold the food in front of her face and press it into her mouth manually, as when she got back she knew the Astrophysicist would want to go straight into explaining all of her research first thing with Selvig. 

After spending another two hours working, she decided to take a break and returned back to her room. It wasn’t big or spacious, but she made do with the tiny bedroom, finding it cozy and comfortable...after a few weeks of adjusting to it. Jane mostly slept out in the trailer she had parked adjacent to her lab, so she allowed Toni to use the room for herself.

She sat on her bed and worked on a few private projects she’d placed on her laptop, as well as in some of her notebooks, having found some pretty good hiding places for the notebooks and other items in her room she didn’t want Jane finding. Not that she thought she’d snoop, Jane had only set foot in the room once when showing Toni around, but she still was a bit paranoid and wanted to take precautions. 

Same with the synthetic skin solution she’d brought with her, which she had a few spares, and was kept in bottles that looked like deodorant and hairspray, again kept out of sight just in case. 

She spent the next half an hour putting the finishing touches on a schematic she’d been playing around with for another suit design. Not that she could build anything on par with her previous suits yet, due to her still lacking the resources necessary for anything as high tech as that, but she still did like to keep designing and writing down ideas as they came.

By the time she put her notebook back in it’s hiding place, she got a text on her phone from Jane saying they were a few minutes out, making Toni check the clock and notice how much time had passed since she’d gone to her room. She made her way back out to the lab with interest, as she’d researched Erik Selvig. The man was a brilliant Astrophysicist, as well as a former colleague of Jane’s father, and knew her from when she was a young child. 

Jane spoke very highly of him, and Toni had to admit he was a very well respected and accredited scientist whom she was excited to meet, especially since he didn’t exist back on her Earth. 

“Darcy, we’re back” Jane said as Toni saw her enter the lab’s front door with Doctor Selvig, and taking a moment to examine the man she couldn’t help but suppress a laugh, he was an exact image of what came to mind when most people envisioned Astrophysicists. 

While Jane still went around dressing like she was still a grad student, or shopping from a thrift store. Doctor Selvig was totally rocking the whole ‘rumpled scientist’ look, only missing a tweed jacket, though that may have gone into stereotype overload. 

“Darcy, this is Dr Erik Selvig. Erik, this is Darcy Lewis, my intern” Jane said, introducing him as they approached.

“I’ve told her all about you” she added to the older man.

“Oh yeah, she’s been chewing my ear off all week since she called you” Toni said with a grin thrusting her hand out. “Nice to meet you”

Erik stared at her for a moment, as if examining her before shaking her hand and giving her a slim smile. “Likewise” he said before Jane began ushering him over to her workspace.

“Now you have to look at this data we collected just yesterday, we managed to get some great readouts” Jane said as she began looking over the various papers, only for Toni to interrupt her, bringing over the paper bags of food she’d brought back before.

“Oh no no on, you have to eat first. I am not getting another lecture from Izzy about your eating habits, that woman has the power to cut off my own food and caffeine supply, and there is no way I am switching to gas station food.” Toni said as she placed a bag down in Jane’s lap, causing her to wave her hand at Toni.

“It can wait, I need to show Erik the data”

“Which you can do while eating, no arguments” Toni said before offering the other bag to Erik. “I didn’t know what you’d like so I just got some sandwiches, there’s coffee and other stuff in the kitchen if you want some” 

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” Erik said with a more genuine smile. “Anything will taste better than what they served on the plane”

“Eugh Airline food, the school cafeteria lunches of the sky” Toni said grimacing. 

And ok fair enough, she’d never had a normal school cafeteria lunch, having gone to insanely rich kids schools and then college at a very young age, and either had high quality food prepared, or what Jarvis made for her at home. But she heard enough horror stories from Rhodey and Peter to know they were not appetizing to say the least. 

Watching with a pleased smile as Jane relented and began going over their research in between bites of her sandwich, Toni adjourned to the kitchen to make herself a drink.

* * *

It was now late in the evening, and Toni was now on the roof of the lab in the little spot Jane had set up with a firepit and some chairs, a small fire was burning as Toni was taking steady breaths while maintaining her stance. 

She had taken to coming up here in her free time, when Jane wasn’t up her that is, and would sometimes listen to music or try and relax, as well as practicing her self defence and martial arts.

As she took in the night air, she continued her Tai-Chi moves, making her way through the slow but practiced forms.

She was still glad Phil had insisted she agree to self defence training and picking up some fighting skills. While she did have some knowledge of it before having become Iron Maiden, they didn’t compare to the training Phil had her undergo, insisting she needed to be able to be proficient in protecting herself outside the suit. 

And she had to agree, the training did come in handy more than once, and she had thanked Phil for it eventually, after several bouts of cursing him for the many many bumps and bruises she’d picked up along the way. 

Her trainer had whipped her into shape though, even after all of Toni’s complaints. Most of which had been internal, as she hadn’t the nerve to say most of what she was thinking to the woman’s face. 

-

_Phil walked through the administration offices of SHIELD, walking through the halls of endless bureaucracy till he came to a specific office, peering in to the end of it to see that the cubicle he was heading to was still occupied._

_Walking in, he made sure he was a few feet away before speaking. “Agent May” he said as the woman in question had just finished stamping and filing a series of papers._

_He saw her stiffen and hold her head up straight before she replied simply. “No”_

_Phil stepped to the side of her cubicle to see her turn to him with a blank look. “You don’t even know what I was going to say”_

_“I know Fury has you working on a new project, and now you’re here. Somehow I doubt you’re here for requisition forms, so whatever you want Phil, the answer is no” she said sternly._

_Not perturbed by her reply, he merely smiled at her slightly._

_“You could at least hear me out first before shutting me down so quickly”_

_“Phil-”_

_“I’m not trying to drag you back into the field, if that’s what you're worried about” he said, causing her to pause._

_“I swear, this is something I need help with in preparation for field work, yes. But you won’t have to worry about leaving the...comfort of your cubicle, save for a few hours a day at most” he said, glancing at the small enclosed space before looking back at her._

_Melinda stared at him for several moments, assessing him before she replied with a slight sigh._

_“What do you want me to do?”_

_“It’s Toni Stark”_

_This received a slight frown from the other agent, who turned her chair around to face him fully. “What does she have to do with this?”_

_“She’s the whole reason I’m here. You see I asked Fury to make me her handler, and official liaison with SHIELD. But I also wanted her to get a little extra training in, she’s going to be a consultant for the moment, with a potential agent status in the future, regardless she’s going to be involved with us, and I want her to be able to defend herself”_

_“Pretty sure she has a multi-million dollar suit packed with enough firepower to invade Afghanistan single handedly, some would say that’s overkill”_

_“That’s true, but outside of that suit she’s a teenage girl who’s just as mortal as the rest of us.” Phil replied before his expression shifted slightly though he tried to mask it, but Melinda had known him too long to miss the sliver of concern that peeked through the ‘Agent’ mask of collected professionalism._

_“You’re worried about her this much?” Melinda said in a softer tone._

_“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t. And I can’t think of anyone better to train her than you May” Phil replied before he was silent for a few seconds._

_“If you really don’t want to, I can ask-”_

_“Four PM this afternoon”_

_“I’m sorry?”_

_Melinda stood up, taking the documents she’d finished stamping and putting them into a folder before turning back to Phil._

_“Bring her by at Four PM, I want to inspect her physical condition first before we go any further,” Melinda said as she stepped out of her cubicle and began walking to the entrance of the office._

_“May” Phil’s voice called out, causing her to pause and look back at him._

_“Thanks” he said genuinely, receiving a nod from her before she left the room._

_-_

Toni finally returned to her room a few hours later, crashing into bed after putting her pyjamas on. She played a few games on her ipod before finally drifting off to sleep. 

Though it didn’t take long for her peaceful expression to shift as she began to move around in her sleep, her unconscious body twitching and jerking around as she let out whimpers and sobs.

This only got worse as her whimpers ascended into screams and her body thrashed around under the covers until her bedroom door was thrown open and Jane rushed over to her, shaking her and calling out to her before Toni’s eyes sprang open and she sat up quickly, looking around frantically as her body was now covered in sweat as she stared with a haunted expression on her face.

“Darcy! Darcy it’s ok! It’s ok, you were having a nightmare” Jane said softly before Toni pushed the covers up and stood up, backing away from the older woman as she walked shakily over to the door.

“I-I..I need some air” she said as she stepped out of the stuffy room and made her way to the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water and quickly downing it as she leant over the cool metal of the sink, taking slow and measured breaths to try and slow her erratic heart beat.

“Has this been going on for awhile?” came Jane’s voice as Toni turned to see her standing on the edge of the kitchen, fumbling with the edges of her nightgown.

“Sometimes,” Toni said shortly. “They come and go”

“I’m sorry” 

“Not your fault” Toni replied, causing Jane to shake her head.

“No, I’m sorry for not realizing. I could have helped if I had-”

“Jane, really it’s nothing you need to worry about” Toni said trying to placate her as she refilled her glass and took another sip, silence overtook them for almost a minute as she finished the glass slowly before Jane spoke up again.

“Who’s Peter?”

This question caused Toni to freeze up as Jane walked over to her side, seeing the haunted look return to her face.

“I-I heard you calling out that name when you were having the nightmare. Is he a friend, or boyfriend?” Jane asked gently as Toni still looked into the distance, before her reddened eyes began to moisten as she tried to keep her composure.

This failed however as she tried to speak, only for a sob to erupt from her throat which was quickly followed by another, and before she knew it Jane had her arms around her as she couldn’t hold back the tears.

The image of her little brother being slaughtered by Thanos playing over and over again in her head, despite how many comforting words Jane whispered in her ear.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, chapter 4 all wrapped up.
> 
> The next chapter we will delve into 'Thor' events. 
> 
> I am excited to write more, and for your feedback. What did you like about this chapter? And would you like more flashbacks (too bad if you don't, they're coming anyway XD)
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please drop a comment below if you did. I appreciate all the bookmarks, comments and kudos I receive.


End file.
